Wealth
by Magi Silverwolf
Summary: Tony learned some lessons earlier than others. Then Rhodey came along to prove him wrong. (RC fill; IronHusbands)


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.

 **Warnings:** This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. Please utilize understanding of personal sensitivities before and while reading.

 **Author's Note(s):** There's a lot of the standard package of Tony-centric issues, particularly of the MIT years variety. So, references to crappy parenting, underage drinking & sex, trying to buy attention with whatever seemed to work, and then Rhodey. Also, kid-logic, which isn't always the best because it tends to lack the greater perspective that is gained through life experience. In case, anyone is wondering, Jarvis is sad when he watches Ana with Tony because of it reminds him of their shared lost opportunity, not because of anything Tony is doing.

 **Challenge Information:**  
 **Day/Fic** : 13  
 **Representation(s)** : IronHusbands (Tony Stark/James Rhodes)  
 **Word Count** : 642 (Story Only); n/a (Story & Epigraph)

-= LP =-  
 **Wealth**  
-= LP =-

Tony learned early that _he_ wasn't people's preference. It didn't always make sense to him. When he was really young, he hadn't understood that sometimes that was just the way of things, that if you had nothing to offer people, then people had no reason to want you around. He was too young to understand anything beyond parents who were always busy and a revolving door of caretakers who never really stayed long.

Somewhere in between being kidnapped for ransoms that wouldn't be paid, building circuit boards (and engines and payload delivery systems), and speeding through years' worth of education in a fraction of the time it would have taken others, Tony finally realized that nothing in the world was free. Everything had a cost of some sort. Someone had to pay for it. The affection he soaked up from Ana whenever he was home? It always made Jarvis really sad in ways that he wouldn't explain. Hanging out with Dad in the lab seemed to always end with him nursing some new cut or burn, typically on his hands. Hanging out with Mom meant smiling for cameras or being nice to people who weren't as nice as they pretended to be so that they would help whatever cause Mom needed them to help. Nothing could be gained without something being given in return.

But that was also true in reverse. Giving meant gaining something. He wasn't enough to draw in friends, but people often hung around if it meant presents. After he got to MIT, he found other ways of getting and keeping attention, other ways of getting affection. No one said anything against it, even if they did give him reproving looks. They didn't have to _like him_ to keep him around so long as he gave them whatever they wanted. Tony didn't particularly like that, but it beat being alone.

Then Rhodey had come into his life.

Rhodey looked at Tony and for some reason saw someone he wanted to be around. Rhodey didn't mind Tony buying the takeout but would just as often pick it up himself. Rhodey wasn't particularly happy with the idea of Tony drinking like he had been, but instead demanding that Tony stop, Rhodey kept watch so that Tony wouldn't get hurt or taken advantage of. Rhodey refused to do anything sexual with him but never refused Tony affection. By the end of the first year of their association, Rhodey stayed over most nights, listening to Tony criticize the products on late-night infomercials until they both couldn't stay awake any longer.

Rhodey didn't want money or presents or favors. Rhodey didn't want to use Stark Industries military contacts to advance his career. Rhodey didn't compare Tony to Captain America or really anyone, just accepting that Tony was _himself_. That was something unique to his platypus. All the refusals of things were never about rejecting _Tony_ or Tony failing to find the right price.

It was always Rhodey reminding him that it wasn't necessary, that nothing would ever be worth more than Tony _himself_ , even if Tony didn't believe it. Rhodey would always have his back. Rhodey would always be there whenever Tony asked, would always come back even if he had been pissed when he left. Rhodey would always find him if he went missing.

When Tony was twenty, Rhodey proved that _finding him_ applied to when kidnapped as much as it had to wandered off to break the known limits of science. Incidentally, it was also when Tony realized that all the money, patents, and company shares in the world had nothing on the worth of a single person. That other stuff mattered only in terms of opportunity and resources. They didn't make a person rich, not really, not in any way that mattered.

The uncompromising love of one person was true wealth.

-= LP =-  
An Ending  
-= LP =-


End file.
